Snare structure for drums



Aug. 1, 1950, w. F. LUDWIG ETAL SNARE STRUCTURE FOR DRUMS Filed Dec. 15, 1945 I INVENTORS 443/1222]: l X58172 y'- W @45 Patented Aug. 1, 1950 SNARE STRUCTURE FOR DRUMS William F. Ludwig and Fred F. Kiemle,

. Chicago, Ill.

Application December 15, 1945, Serial No. 635,265

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in snare drums and in snare structures for drums and has for its object to provide a structure of this type which is very eflicient, durable and of light weight and which. can be produced in any desired width and number of snares.

A further object of the invention is to provide a helical wire snare structure wherein the outer end portions of the snares are prevented from cutting through the drum head skin.

Another object of the invention is to provide a drum structure and a helical wire snare structure therefor wherein cooperative means are provided forcausing the snares to lie in contact throughout their entire lengths with a. predetermined surface portion of the drum head when said snares are tensioned, with no portions of said snares bearing more firmly than other portions thereof upon the drum head.

A further object of the invention is to provide drum snares and plates to which the same are secured, wherein no part of either of said plates is brought into surface contact with the drum head when the said snares are tensioned, and wherein the total combined length of said snares and end plates is only such that the means connected with said end plates for tensioning said snares are caused to bear upon only the outermost marginal portion of the drum head.

A suitable embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan of a snare structure constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view of the same taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary inverted perspective view, on a reduced scale, of a conventional type of snare drum equipped with a snare structure constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged detail sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. ;3 on the scale of Figs. 1 and 5.

Fig, 5 is a detail fragmentary vertical sectional view showing an inner surface portion of the drum casing, taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

A11 figures of the drawing are in reverse or upside down.

The snare structure of the invention includes a pair of plates I and 2 composed of a suitable type of tough plastic material, such as certain types of Celluloid and others of the thermoplastic type.

The plates I and 2 may be made of any desired shape and thickness, but in the instance illustrated, they are substantially rectangular and to the outer diameter of the snares or greater.

They are shown as being of greater thickness than said snare diameter, in this instance, for the sole reason that the plastic material used must be of sufficient tensile strength to withstand the greatest tension to which the snares may be subjected in use.

The snares 3 are embedded into one face of each of the plates I and 2 along substantially equally long end portions to a substantially equal depth which is less than their diameter, as, for example, equal to eighty or ninety percent of the latter.

Each of the plates I and 2 is equipped with a pair of perforations 4 for purposes of attaching thereto the tensioning cords 5, shown in Figs. 1 and 4, which are attachable to whatever type of snare tensioning mechanism 6 that may be mounted upon the drum shell I, said cords 5 being passed through openings 8 in the conventional drum head tensioning hoop 9, as shown in Fig. 4.

The snares 3 are equally spaced apart and parallel, and are perpendicular to the opposed parallel edges of plates I and 2 and the portions thereof projecting from the faces of said plates serve to maintain said plate faces spaced from the drum head, while the tension of said snares maintains said plates parallel with said head and thus also maintains the middle portions of the snares in contact with said head.

The cords 5 underlying the outer edge portions of the plates I and 2 serve as suflicient supports for said plate portions to prevent canting of the same when the snares 3 are tensioned by operation of the screw I3 or the lever I4, the latter or an equivalent thereof being common to many snare tensioning mechanisms.

Both ends of practically all sheet metal drum shells are equipped with terminal inwardly projecting arcuate annular flanges I2 over which the drum heads ID are stretched, but in the instance illustrated, the lower edge of the shell I has its annular flange equipped with a pair of diametrically opposed depressions shown in Figs. 4 and 5 of arcuate length less than the width of amply supported by the drum head Ill and thus maintained parallel with the latter against stress imposed upon the outer edge portions of said,

plates which might tend to cant them when the snares are tensioned. See Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

The cords 5 have their end portions extending downward through the openings 4 of the plates I and 2 and then outwardly underneath the same within the marginally recessed por-- tions of the drum head, through these openings in and over the skirt portions of the hoop 9, and are then connected, respectively, with an anchoring device (not shown) and the snare tensioning mechanism 6 which includes an adjustin screw [3 and an operating lever I4. The skirt portion of'the hoopfi' arcuatein cross section, asshown inFi'g. 43 and connected with conventional means (not shown) to draw them toward each other totension: the drum heads either in unison or independently ofeach other as is common practice in theart;

Weclaim as our'invention:

A- snare structure comprising a series of equally sp'aced 'apart'parallel helical wire snares of equal diameter having their axes disposed in a plane parallelwith the surface of the drum head upon which they hear whentensioned, a pair of sub-- 4 stantially rectangular end plates of a thermoplastic material into which predetermined equal lengths of the end portions of said snares are embedded to equal depth with portions of said end portions of said snares projecting equally from one surface of each of said end plates, said surfaces of said plates being plane, the combined length of said plates and unembedded portions of said snares being less than equal to the outermost marginal edge of the drum head, said end plates being equipped with perforations to receive means for connecting the same with conventional snare tensioning mechanisms mounted upon. the drum with said perforations' positioned to cause portions of said connecting means to bear upon the said marginal portion of the drum head and thereby cooperating with said projecting end portions of the embedded parts of said snares to maintain said.;.end plates spaced from the drum head when. said snaresare tensioned, the portions of said snaresdisposed' between said end plates being of equal length.

I WILLIAM E; LUDWIG.

' FRED Fi KIEMLE.

1RiilillllthNEJE'S EDITED Tillie following referencesnare. of record in the.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name' Date I 1383.6;328 James a JIl1y"23,,'1931 210853 19 Meyer J'u1y'6, 1937 2;101,784= Logan DEC; 7, 1937" 

